Little Duck
by MightierThanSword17
Summary: Katniss has a dream of her little sister Prim that gives her more closure than anything.
There she is. Katniss sees Prim in the distance as she's trying to check the pulse of one of the bombing victims of the Capital. Katniss walks closer and closer to Prim as she shouts her name. She's confused as to why someone as young as Prim would be sent in a combat zone where her life would be at stake. As soon as Katniss is close enough to almost touch Prim, Katniss looks up and sees a parachute slowly fly down. As the parachute hits the ground, everything goes black.

Katniss looks behind her and sees she's back at her house in District 12. But when she looks in front of her, she sees a forest. This forest looks very similar to the arena she was in at her first Hunger Games. Katniss doesn't understand what she's doing there. Normally in this part of the dream, she actually sees the flames surrounding her sister and getting thrown back from the blast like always. Not this time though. This time she sees her sister coming out from behind the trees approaching her. Katniss stands back.

"Get away" warns Katniss as she points her arrow at Prim. "I know you're not real. You're a mutt! You're just a mutt sent to me as a sick joke by someone!"

Prim looks at Katniss sadly.

"Do you hear me?!" Shouts Katniss to the sky. "How much more can I take?! Why are you constantly reminding me of what I lost?! Why do you want me to be in this much pain?!"

Prim walks closer to a distraught Katniss and slowly moves Katniss's arrow down.

"Katniss" says Prim. "I'm not a mutt. I'm your sister. I love you."

Katniss still backs away.

"Well say something" says Prim.

"You know I've never been good at saying something" says Katniss

Prim chuckles.

"I saw you die. The bombs exploded all around you and you didn't make it out" says Katniss, suspiciously.

"You're right. I did die" says Prim.

"Then how could you be here and why are you in the arena?" asks Katniss.

"I'm here because I want to change your dreams" explains Prim. "Every dream you have of me is my death. The explosion that you had no control of."

Prim cups Katniss's face.

"Do you hear me?" asks Prim. "You had no control of it and there's nothing you could have done to prevent it. Every time you dream about my death, it's an insult to me. If you dream about me, it should be about all of the good times we had with each other. When we would do each other's hair, when you would try to teach me to hunt. Especially dancing at Finnick's wedding."

Katniss gives a chuckle but then looks sorrowfully down to the ground.

"I'm sorry, Prim. It was still my fault though" says Katniss, crying. "I volunteered for you because I thought I was saving you. I didn't want me and all of Panem to have to witness your death. And in the end, that's still what ended up happening all because of me being the Mockingjay. All because of me wanting revenge against Snow."

"Stop" orders Prim. "Here's something that I should have told you when I was still alive when you came back from your first games- thank you for saving my life. And yes, that's what you did- save me."

"No-" says Katniss.

"Let me finish" interrupts Prim. "I'm in this arena now to show you that this is where I would have been if not for you. I would have been in the woods with no skills to protect myself. _You_ were always the one protecting _me._ I've always been good at protecting others which isn't what you're supposed to do in the games to stay alive. By you taking my place and even better being alive after, you gave me time to realize that I can show strength in my own way. Sure, I can't hunt like you or fight like you but I'm good at medicine. I was given enough time to realize that my calling would have been to be a doctor if the explosion hadn't happened. And that wasn't on you. That was on Coin. She didn't care about me or you or any of us."

"Mom can't even look at me again" says Katniss.

"For the same reason you can't look at Gale again. One look can bring back a lot of painful memories. Mom has her own life now and she needs to heal in the way that's best for her" explains Prim.

"I've missed you" cries Katniss.

"Don't. Because like I've told you before, I'm with you. I've always been with you" says Prim. "That's why you can't continue to be sad anymore. You need to laugh more and smile more and have more fun than ever with Peeta and your children. If you don't, then Snow and Coin are still taunting you and it'll be as if the games were still around."

"You're right. I know you're right. I just wish I could have done more to protect you. I wish you could have been there as the maid of honor in my wedding and seen my kids born" says Katniss.

"Just because you were the mockingjay doesn't mean that you stop being human. There's only so much you can do. Panem was a giant arena and the odds weren't in my favor. Because you stood against those odds, that makes you my hero" says Prim, proudly.

Katniss cries harder.

"The real hero is you, my little duck" says Katniss, making Prim smile.

Katniss pulls Prim into a hug that's filled with more love than any other hug they've had. Two heroes reunited in full embrace.

"Will I still be able to see you?" asks Katniss as she and Prim pull apart.

"Always. I'll always be in your dreams" promises Prim.

"I love you, Primrose" says Katniss.

"I love you too, Katniss" says Prim.

Katniss wakes up and sees her hand interlocked with Peeta's with her head lying on his chest. She looks up at Peeta.

"Hey" says Peeta as he smiles looking at Katniss. "Are you okay?"

Katniss kisses Peeta lovingly.

"I think I'll be okay now" says Katniss, smiling.


End file.
